According to legend, the Black Orlov Diamond originally rough 195 carat came from India in the 19th century as one of the eyes of Brahma (the Hindu God of creation) statue in Pondicherry. That's why this diamond also known as the Eye of Brahma Diamond. However, the real history about the diamond remain unclear. It is said one of the eyes was stolen by a monk, after that the rumor about the diamond being cursed began to spread. It is believed whoever own the Black Orlov Diamond will suffer violent deaths.
The first known victim of the cursed diamond was J.W. Paris, a diamond dealer. In 1932 he has imported the precious stone to America. Few days later after he arriving and sold it to the buyer in New York City, he committed suicide by jumping from the top of Manhattan skyscraper. It is rumored that J.W. Paris had been suffering from extreme anxiety due to business worries, and that two letters were found in his possession at the time of his death, one addressed to his wife and the other to a fellow jeweller, but no details of either contents were ever made public.
In 1947, Princess Nadia Vyegin-Orlov was said to be former owner of the Black Orlov - which the cursed diamond gets its name - leaped to her death in apparent suicide from the top of a building in the city of Rome. Only one month previous to Princess Nadia's death another member of Russian royalty, Princess Leonila Viktorovna-Bariatinsky had also committed sucide. At the time of her death Princess Leonila was married to Royal Navy Officer Prince Andre Glinstine, however there was no details are on record as to the reason why she killed herself, although it was later discovered that she had been the owner of the Black Orlov Diamond.
After several mysterious deaths that have happened to the previous owner, the diamond was re-cut into three separate gems in an attempt to break the curse and since then the new private owners seem to have escaped the curse. Now it only weighs 13.50 g (67.50 carats)
Dennis Petimezas, the current owner of the Black Orlov Diamond said, "In the middle of the 20th Century, the media christened it the 'Evil Death Gem' but I've never felt nervous about owning the Black Orlov. I've spent the past year trying to discover everything I can about the stone's melodramatic history and I'm pretty confident that the curse is broken."
Sources:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/4262862.stm;
http://www.gemselect.com/other-info/black-orlov-diamond.php;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Orlov
Pic Source:
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40821000/jpg/_40821466_diagetty.jpg
The first known victim of the cursed diamond was J.W. Paris, a diamond dealer. In 1932 he has imported the precious stone to America. Few days later after he arriving and sold it to the buyer in New York City, he committed suicide by jumping from the top of Manhattan skyscraper. It is rumored that J.W. Paris had been suffering from extreme anxiety due to business worries, and that two letters were found in his possession at the time of his death, one addressed to his wife and the other to a fellow jeweller, but no details of either contents were ever made public.
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| Black Orlov Diamond |
After several mysterious deaths that have happened to the previous owner, the diamond was re-cut into three separate gems in an attempt to break the curse and since then the new private owners seem to have escaped the curse. Now it only weighs 13.50 g (67.50 carats)
Dennis Petimezas, the current owner of the Black Orlov Diamond said, "In the middle of the 20th Century, the media christened it the 'Evil Death Gem' but I've never felt nervous about owning the Black Orlov. I've spent the past year trying to discover everything I can about the stone's melodramatic history and I'm pretty confident that the curse is broken."
Sources:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/4262862.stm;
http://www.gemselect.com/other-info/black-orlov-diamond.php;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Orlov
Pic Source:
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40821000/jpg/_40821466_diagetty.jpg
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